A university The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Listen to article. A university is an institution of higher education, usually comprising a college of liberal arts and sciences and graduate and professional schools and having the authority to confer degrees in various fields of study. 1 georgia university jobs 2 A university (from Latin universitas 'a whole') is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. 3 kristiania university college 4 It's "a university!" Use the article "a" before the sound of a consonant. The word "university" starts with the vowel "u" but the first letter is pronounced like a "y." Therefore, you treat the word as if it starts with a consonant. 5 (Getty Images) The difference between a college and a university in the U.S. may not always be apparent, especially to students who grew up in other parts of the world. The word "college" doesn't. 6 Schools in the National Universities category, such as the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Vermont, offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and doctoral. 7 university of north georgia jobs 8 So, you want to be a university? 9 The University of South-Eastern Norway commonly known as USN, is a Norwegian state university. 10